An overwhelming majority of fleet managers put in unpaid overtime purely in order to meet their high workloads.

Figures from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) found that 94% of transport managers regularly work overtime, with the average fleet manager putting in 1 hour and 18 minutes over their contracted hours each day.

One third of them do so by choice. However, most fleet operators (52%) work extra hours to meet deadlines and stay abreast of industry changes.

Jo Causon, director of marketing and corporate affairs at the CMI, advised companies to be more aware of the overall impact of long hours on staff productivity.

“Many organisations focus on the cost of absence to their organisations, yet are not addressing the root causes of absenteeism,” she said.

“In today’s results-driven environment, output is more important than input, so two questions need to be answered: why are employers ignoring the impact of long hours on the health and performance of their employees and what responsibility are employees taking for how they manage themselves?”